Seat track assembly with load pins

ABSTRACT

An assembly for mounting a seat on a track in a vehicle, the track including inboard and outboard parallel spaced apart track portions with each track portion including a lower track affixed to the vehicle and an upper track at least partially enclosing the lower track and reciprocally movable therealong. The assembly includes a pair of seat mounting plates associated with each inboard and outboard track portion with each pair including parallel spaced apart plates affixed to the seat and formed to partially enclose the associated track portion. A set of load pins is associated with each pair of seat mounting plates and extends between the associated seat mounting plates with one load pin of the set positioned below the lower track and another load pin of the set positioned above the upper track.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/895,800, filed 20 Mar. 2007.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to vehicular seating devices.

More particularly, the present invention relates to track mounted seats for adjustment or movement.

In a further and more specific aspect, the present invention concerns adjustable track mechanisms for vehicular seats.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Vehicular seating devices generally include a seat bottom and a seat back (referred to hereinafter collectively as a “seat”) attached together either in a fixed or an adjustable position. In this context it will be understood that the term “vehicle” includes automobiles, buses, trucks, airplanes, and the like. One or more of the seating devices are generally mounted on the floor of the vehicle, depending upon the type of vehicle, by tracks that allow forward and rearward adjustment or movement

It will be understood that in many or even most of these track mounted vehicular seats the tracks include longitudinally (i.e. forward and rearward) extending sets of tracks attached to opposite sides of the seat, hereinafter referred to as inboard and outboard tracks. Each set of tracks includes an inner or lower track typically attached to the floor and an upper or outer track that is typically coupled to the seat. The outer track is constructed to at least partially surround the inner track and to be reciprocally movable along the inner track by employing some type of seat adjustment mechanism.

In previous tracks of this type, the outer track needs to be sufficiently strong to prevent failure. Typically, in failure, the outer track is peeled from the inner track (deformation and disengagement of the outer track from the inner track) upon the application of substantial forces. Substantial forces arise from events such as collisions wherein an individual sitting in the seat is thrown against the seat back in a rear end collision, or against a restraining device in a front end collision. The forces generated by these events are transmitted through the seat to the tracks. If the force is great enough, failure occurs, with undesirable results to the occupant.

Conventionally, to increase the amount of force a track can sustain, the outer track is fabricated of heavier, thicker material. Unfortunately, the problem with simply increasing the strength of the outer track to any desired level is the resulting compliance issues. Greater strength results in inner compliance impairing the ability of the vehicle manufacturer to install the tracks and adversely affecting the movement of the outer rail on the inner rail. Thus, a compromise must be achieved between strength and compliance.

It would be highly advantageous, therefore, to remedy the foregoing and other deficiencies inherent in the prior art.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved vehicular seat track assembly.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved vehicular seat track assembly with high moment strength and a design that substantially reduces or eliminates peal.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved vehicular seat track assembly that does not require heavy, thick upper tracks and does not impair the ability of vehicle manufacturers to install the tracks.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly, to achieve the desired objects and advantages of the present invention in accordance with a preferred embodiment thereof, provided is an assembly for mounting a seat on a track in a vehicle, the track including inboard and outboard parallel spaced apart track portions with each track portion including a lower track affixed to the vehicle and an upper track at least partially enclosing the lower track and reciprocally movable therealong. The assembly includes a pair of seat mounting plates associated with each inboard and outboard track portion with each pair including parallel spaced apart plates affixed to the seat and formed to partially enclose the associated track portion. A set of load pins is associated with each pair of seat mounting plates and extends between the associated seat mounting plates with one load pin of the set positioned below the lower track and another load pin of the set positioned above the upper track.

In a preferred embodiment the set of load pins includes a pair of rearward load pins and a pair of forward load pins. The pair of rearward load pins includes a first rearward load pin positioned below the lower track proximate a forward end of the associated seat mounting plates and a second rearward load pin positioned above the upper track proximate a rearward end of the associated seat mounting plates and the pair of forward load pins includes a first forward load pin positioned below the lower track proximate a rearward end of the associated seat mounting plates and a second forward load pin positioned above the upper track proximate a forward end of the associated seat mounting plates. Also, in the preferred embodiment the second rearward load pin and the second forward load pin extend through an upwardly extending portion of the upper track and at least partially support the seat.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and further and more specific objects and advantages of the instant invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a seat frame including seat track adjustment apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of a single adjustable seat track with load pins according to the present invention; and

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the track mechanism of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Turning now to the drawings in which like reference characters indicate corresponding elements throughout the several views, attention is first directed to FIG. 1, which illustrates a seat 10 (without padding, etc. for an improved view) of a seat mechanism for use in vehicles or the like. Seat 10 is coupled to a seat supporting track assembly 12. Track assembly 12 has an inboard portion 13 and an outboard portion 14. As each of portions 13 and 14 are substantially identical with regard to the construction and operation of the present invention, only one (outboard portion 14) will be described in detail.

Outboard portion 14 includes an inner track 15 (lower track), typically coupled to a floor of the vehicle, and an outer track 16 (upper track), typically coupled to seat 10. Outer track 16 is constructed to be reciprocally movable along inner track 15 by employing a seat adjustment mechanism 18. Reciprocal movement of outer track 16 and the use of adjustment mechanism 18 in combination with track assembly 12 permits adjustment of seat 10 and outer track 16 along inner track 15. Here it will be understood that the adjustment mechanism, whether manual or motorized, can be substantially any mechanism known to those skilled in the art such as provided by a movable rod interlocking in one of a series of linearly displaced holes, a detent type arrangement, comb style mechanism, or an adjustment mechanism as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,736,457 entitled “Continuous Seat Adjustment Mechanism”, issued 18 May 2004, herein incorporated by reference and used in the preferred embodiment.

Referring Now to FIGS. 2 and 3, outer track 16 rides on and encloses a substantial portion of inner track 15 for relative longitudinal movement therealong. In previous tracks of this type, the outer track needs to be sufficiently strong to prevent failure. Typically, in failure, the outer track is peeled from the inner track (deformation and disengagement of the outer track from the inner track) upon the application of substantial forces. Substantial forces arise from events such as collisions wherein an individual sitting in the seat is thrown against the seat back in a rear end collision, or against a restraining device in a front end collision. The forces generated by these events are transmitted through the seat to the tracks. If the force is great enough, failure occurs, with undesirable results to the occupant. Conventionally, to increase the amount of force a track can sustain, the outer track is fabricated of heavier, thicker material. Unfortunately, the problem with simply increasing the strength of the outer track to any desired level is the resulting compliance issues. Greater strength results in inner compliance impairing the ability of the vehicle manufacturer to install the tracks and adversely affecting the movement of the outer rail on the inner rail. Thus, a compromise must be achieved between strength and compliance.

In the present invention, outer track 16 is not structural, that is, it does not receive the forces from an event such as a collision, and therefore will not fail. Outer track 16 simply acts as a guide on inner track 15 and supports adjustment mechanism 18. A pair of seat mounting plates, 22 and 24, positioned in parallel spaced apart orientation on opposing sides of outboard portion 14 of track assembly 12, is positioned so as to substantially overlie and enclose a portion of outer track 16. Seat mounting plates 22 and 24 are further constructed to mount adjustment mechanism 18 and support the seat. For purposes of explanation and orientation in this preferred embodiment seat mounting plates 22 and 24 have a forward end 25 (a direction toward the front of the vehicle on which they are mounted) and a rearward end 26 (a direction toward the rear of the vehicle). Also, in this specific embodiment, each seat mounting plate 22 and 24 has a lower portion 23 and an upper portion 27 with the upper portions 23 offset toward each other to substantially form a channel between lower portions 27 that receives and encloses upper rail 16. Upper portions 27 are formed to receive and support the seat bottom and back.

Seat mounting plates 22 and 24 may be at least partially mounted and supported on portion 14 of track assembly 12 by load pins extending between lower portions 23. It will be understood that mounting plates 22 and 24 may be attached to upper rail 16 in a variety if different configurations and the load pins may or may not be included in the actual mounting. In the present embodiment upper rail 16 includes front and rear laterally spaced apart, upwardly extending pairs of ears 17 and 19, respectively, positioned to receive therethrough load pins, as explained in more detail below.

A set of rearward load pins 28 and 29 extend laterally between seat mounting plates 22 and 24 with load pin 28 positioned above outer track 16 and extending through ears 19, proximate rearward end 26, and load pin 29 positioned under inner track 15, proximate forward end 25. This arrangement results in load pins 28 and 29 absorbing forces from rearward loading. In a specific example, rearward loading occurs when an occupant of the seat is forced rearwardly against the seat back, such as in a rear end collision. The rearward loading tends to rotate the seat in a clockwise or rearward direction which is prevented by load pin 28 positioned above portion 14 of track assembly 12 and load pin 29 positioned below portion 14 of track assembly 12.

Another set of forward load pins 30 and 32 can be optionally employed in any specific application, particularly when there is a potential for a front loading force to be applied to the seat back. In the present embodiment, in which the seat is at least partially mounted and supported by the load pins, load pins 30 and 32 aid in balancing the seat during normal usage. A front loading force can occur when a restraint device such as a seatbelt is at least partially anchored to the seat back and a front end collision or the like occurs. Load pins 30 and 32 extend laterally between seat mounting plates 22 and 24 with load pin 32 positioned above outer track 16 and extending through ears 17, proximate forward end 25, and load pin 30 positioned under inner track 15, proximate rearward end 26. This arrangement results in load pins 30 and 32 absorbing forces from forward loading. In a specific example, forward loading occurs when an occupant of the seat is forced forwardly against a restraint device at least partially anchored to the seat back, such as in a front end collision. The forward loading tends to rotate the seat in a counterclockwise or forward direction which is prevented by load pin 32 positioned above portion 14 of track assembly 12 and load pin 30 positioned below portion 14 of track assembly 12.

By employing plates 22 and 24 and load pin sets 28/29 and 30/32, loads (forces generated by events such as collisions) are absorbed by a structure that can be strengthened as required by the application without regard for compliance. Outer track 16 can be made thin and relatively supple because it is not structural and does not need to be able to withstand applied loads. Thus, greater design freedom exists to ensure adequate track compliance for smooth operation, low track efforts and superior mounting performance. This load pin arrangement accepts high loads, with a moment strength of over 9500 Nm. This is far above failure level of a conventional track system.

The invention has been described above with reference to a preferred embodiment. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that changes and modifications may be made to the embodiments without departing from the nature and scope of the invention. Various changes and modifications to the embodiments herein chosen for purposes of illustration will readily occur to those skilled in the art. To the extent that such modifications and variations do not depart from the spirit of the invention, they are intended to be included within the scope thereof which is assessed only by a fair interpretation of the following claims. 

1. An assembly for mounting a seat on a track in a vehicle, the track including inboard and outboard parallel spaced apart track portions with each track portion including a lower track affixed to the vehicle and an upper track at least partially enclosing the lower track and reciprocally movable therealong, the assembly comprising: a pair of seat mounting plates associated with each inboard and outboard track portion, each pair including parallel spaced apart plates affixed to the seat and formed to partially enclose the associated track portion; and a set of load pins associated with each pair of seat mounting plates and extending between the associated seat mounting plates with one load pin of the set positioned below the lower track and another load pin of the set positioned above the upper track.
 2. An assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein the one load pin of the set is further positioned proximate a rear end of the associated seat mounting plates and the another load pin is further positioned proximate a front end of the associated seat mounting plates so as to substantially prevent rearward rotation of the seat during rearward loading of the vehicle.
 3. An assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein the one load pin of the set is further positioned proximate a front end of the associated seat mounting plates and the another load pin is further positioned proximate a rear end of the associated seat mounting plates so as to substantially prevent forward rotation of the seat during forward loading of the vehicle.
 4. An assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein the set of load pins includes a pair of rearward load pins and a pair of forward load pins, the pair of rearward load pins includes a first rearward load pin positioned below the lower track proximate a forward end of the associated seat mounting plates and a second rearward load pin positioned above the upper track proximate a rearward end of the associated seat mounting plates and the pair of forward load pins includes a first forward load pin positioned below the lower track proximate a rearward end of the associated seat mounting plates and a second forward load pin positioned above the upper track proximate a forward end of the associated seat mounting plates.
 5. An assembly as claimed in claim 4 wherein the second rearward load pin and the second forward load pin extend through an upwardly extending portion of the upper track and at least partially support the seat.
 6. An assembly for mounting a seat in a vehicle comprising: a track including inboard and outboard parallel spaced apart track portions with each track portion including a lower track affixed to the vehicle and an upper track at least partially enclosing the lower track and reciprocally movable therealong; a pair of seat mounting plates associated with each inboard and outboard track portion, each pair including parallel spaced apart plates affixed to the seat and formed to partially enclose the associated track portion; and a set of load pins associated with each pair of seat mounting plates and extending between the associated seat mounting plates with one load pin of the set positioned below the lower track and another load pin of the set positioned above the upper track.
 7. An assembly as claimed in claim 6 wherein the one load pin of the set is further positioned proximate a rear end of the associated seat mounting plates and the another load pin is further positioned proximate a front end of the associated seat mounting plates so as to substantially prevent rearward rotation of the seat during rearward loading of the vehicle.
 8. An assembly as claimed in claim 6 wherein the one load pin of the set is further positioned proximate a front end of the associated seat mounting plates and the another load pin is further positioned proximate a rear end of the associated seat mounting plates so as to substantially prevent forward rotation of the seat during forward loading of the vehicle.
 9. An assembly as claimed in claim 6 wherein the set of load pins includes a pair of rearward load pins and a pair of forward load pins, the pair of rearward load pins includes a first rearward load pin positioned below the lower track proximate a forward end of the associated seat mounting plates and a second rearward load pin positioned above the upper track proximate a rearward end of the associated seat mounting plates and the pair of forward load pins includes a first forward load pin positioned below the lower track proximate a rearward end of the associated seat mounting plates and a second forward load pin positioned above the upper track proximate a forward end of the associated seat mounting plates.
 10. An assembly as claimed in claim 9 wherein the second rearward load pin and the second forward load pin extend through an upwardly extending portion of the upper track and at least partially support the seat.
 11. An assembly for mounting a seat in a vehicle comprising: a track including inboard and outboard parallel spaced apart track portions, the inboard track portion including a lower inboard track affixed to the vehicle and an upper inboard track at least partially enclosing the lower inboard track and reciprocally movable therealong, and the outboard track portion including a lower outboard track affixed to the vehicle and an upper outboard track at least partially enclosing the lower outboard track and reciprocally movable therealong; a first pair of seat mounting plates associated with the inboard track portion and a second pair of seat mounting plates associated with the outboard track portion, the first pair of seat mounting plates including first parallel spaced apart plates affixed to the seat and formed to partially enclose the inboard track portion and the second pair of seat mounting plates including second parallel spaced apart plates affixed to the seat and formed to partially enclose the outboard track portion; a first set of rearward load pins extending between the first pair of seat mounting plates and including a first rearward load pin positioned below the lower track of the inboard track portion proximate a forward end of the first pair of seat mounting plates and a second rearward load pin positioned above the upper track of the inboard track portion proximate a rearward end of the first pair of seat mounting plates; a first set of forward load pins extending between the first pair of seat mounting plates and including a first forward load pin positioned below the lower track of the inboard track portion proximate a rearward end of the first pair of seat mounting plates and a second forward load pin positioned above the upper track of the inboard track portion proximate a forward end of the first pair of seat mounting plates; a second set of rearward load pins extending between the second pair of seat mounting plates and including a first rearward load pin positioned below the lower track of the outboard track portion proximate a forward end of the second pair of seat mounting plates and a second rearward load pin positioned above the upper track of the outboard track portion proximate a rearward end of the second pair of seat mounting plates; and a second set of forward load pins extending between the second pair of seat mounting plates and including a first forward load pin positioned below the lower track of the outboard track portion proximate a rearward end of the second pair of seat mounting plates and a second forward load pin positioned above the upper track of the outboard track portion proximate a forward end of the first pair of seat mounting plates; the first set of rearward load pins and the second set of rearward load pins being positioned to substantially prevent rearward rotation of the seat during rearward loading of the vehicle and the first set of forward load pins and the second set of forward load pins being positioned to substantially prevent forward rotation of the seat during forward loading of the vehicle.
 12. An assembly as claimed in claim 11 wherein the second rearward load pins of the first and second sets of rearward load pins and the second forward load pins of the first and second sets of forward load pins extend through an upwardly extending portion of the upper track of the inboard track portion and an upwardly extending portion of the upper track of the outboard track portion, respectively, and at least partially support the seat. 